This invention relates to an exterior enclosure for a gas-fired water heater. Typically, gas-fired water heaters are placed in basements, utility rooms or closets within a dwelling house. Fire regulations require certain spacing between the water heater and adjacent walls, provision for adequate air flow and ventilation, and specify clearances and angles for the flue pipe which exhausts combustion gases from the water heater. As the cost of gas has become more attractive in relation to the cost of other energy sources such as, for example, fuel oil and electricity, many homeowners with other forms of heat have installed gas water heaters.
In many instances installation of a gas water heater requires an entire closet or utility room of a house be given over to enclosing the water heater, thereby depriving the residents of the room for other purposes. In many other instances, the house may simply not have an area suitable for installation of a gas-fired water heater.
Gas-fired water heaters are also commonly installed by contractors in newly constructed houses. As the size of houses in affordable price ranges has decreased, provision of an area for a gas water-heater in a house inevitably reduces somewhat the livable space within a certain-sized house.
While gas-fired water heaters are extremely safe, gas pipe leaks or unusual malfunctions can cause fire or explosion in rare cases where gas builds up to a certain concentration and is then ignited by a spark.
For all of these reasons it has become advantageous to locate the hot water heater outside the dwelling house, much like central air conditioning units. Because of the safety requirements which must be followed when installing gas appliances and the need to protect the water heater from the weather, this application discloses an enclosure which permits a gas-fired water heater to be safely installed outdoors, thus increasing interior safety and freeing space inside the house for other uses.